TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) – Leon County Commissioners passed changes to its land use constitution on Tuesday night.
The changes will limit utility expansion in the Lake Jackson area, but allow it near Southwood.
The vote was 5-2, with Commissioners David O’Keefe and Rick Minor against.
The comp plan tells developers where they can build and at what density.
The land use discussion focused on something called the Urban Services Area, which is a boundary on a map where sewer and electric grids are run, signaling likely development.
NEW: The Leon County Commission passes changes to its land use constitution, which limits utility expansion in the Lake Jackson area, but allows it near Southwood.
Vote was 5-2 with O’Keefe and Minor against for complex reasons explained above.
— Matt Hoffmann (@ByMattHoffmann) November 19, 2025
Urban planners previously recommended rescinding a vote that would have expanded utilities in the Lake Jackson area.
On Tuesday, they recommended a more limited expansion from what was already laid out.
Commissioner Bill Proctor said a lot of Black neighborhoods, even those already inside the Urban Service Area (USA), don’t have a central sewer.
To have utilities, residents must be in the USA, which is an indication of where the county wants folks to develop.
Minor made a motion to accept what the staff recommends, but added four items which would require how many acres need to be added to the USA to meet home targets.
Commissioners Nick Maddox and Brian Welch made a substitute motion to accept the staff recommendation without three of Minor’s points, including the acre requirements.
Commissioner David O’Keefe took issue with what would be an expansion of the USA near Southwood. He said it’s one landowner who wants the change, and nearby zoning could allow for denser housing if utilities are allowed.
He said the canopy road in the area should be protected. He added that it makes more sense to develop near Mahan or Buck Lake.
O’Keefe expressed worry about increased traffic on Old St. Augustine Road, which is a protected canopy road. He asked Maddox to amend his motion to largely prevent the expansion of the USA south of Apalachee Parkway, but Maddox declined to accept.
Regarding Old St Augustine, Welch said, “these are going to happen” since they’re right next to Southwood, a major development.
“We have to accept the community is going to grow and that houses will be built,” he said.
Minor supported limiting the expansion of the Urban Services Area near Lake Jackson, but wanted to add four more items to the staff’s recommendation.
Ultimately, the board only supported the first of Minor’s four points after staff said it would “take decades” to determine how many acres need to be added to the Urban Services Area to ensure enough housing is built by 2050.
Urban planners have said the Tallahassee area needs 23,000 new housing units in the next 25 years, with a boom in population likely coming.
That’s led to the overhaul of the “comp plan,” which has taken several years.
Both the city and county will hold final hearings in December, when the state will have a final chance to weigh in before the maps are officially adopted.
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